l-r: Michael of Bavaria, Nydia of Spain, and two Americanos

There are some things that are clear impediments. Some we can escape, some we don’t even know are there. For me, one thing that gets in the way of my own self is my computer. So far, every morning we’ve been waking up in this beautiful hostel in Bangkok and going downstairs and getting on our laptops. Every morning we just allow ourselves to get sucked right back in to the energetic vortex that is this damned machine, separating ourselves from the rest of the world – and we have every corner of the world traipsing around us at this hostel! People from Austria, to France, to Japan, and New Zealand, and for the most part, we don’t even acknowledge them. Yesterday I changed that. I got up in the morning and went upstairs to the roof. I took my shoes off and felt the texture of the gravel under my feet, I looked out over the city, took in its smells, its sounds and saw the people of Thailand waking up at sunrise to take their coffee, wash their motor bikes, and prepare the day’s meals. I listened to their quieted parlance, muted by the 5 stories under my bare feet. This is Bangkok, I thought to myself. It may lack the natural ecosystem of Northern Thailand, the smell of wet earth, and the textures of elephants’ skin, but this is real. I wanted more.

After I surrendered to the reality of this city I wanted to see more of it. I went downstairs and didn’t pick up my laptop, I picked up a book. I quietly sat and ate the local breakfast, not the standard Western fare they prepare for us all, and I got away from the crowd of laptops. I already felt freer.

After that a friend I had met at the hostel, Michael came down to the table I was sitting at. He’s from Bavaria and he’s been traveling for months throughout Thailand and Laos, with plans to go to Australia and Cambodia. He’s a social worker from Bavaria with an interest in aid work, social media, and scuba diving, so naturally we had plenty to talk about. No one talked about their financial straits, or about following up on connections, no one was “all business”, this was real human interaction. I can’t say that I have been able to get to know anyone else as well I got to know Michael yesterday  – or Nydia last night. (More on that lovely Spanish flower later.)

After Michael showed me his scuba diving video from his trip to the Thai island of Koh Tao – expect to see more soon – we decided to go to Khao San Road. Michael came along and directed us to the scenic route. We took the sky train to the slow boat and rode with Buddhist monks in their orange robes and the rest of Bangkok down the river, watching all the Hindu and Buddhist temples reflect the sun off their gilded roofs. It was beautiful. It was just what I needed. Once we got to Khao San Road – which is admittedly a tourist trap strip of asphalt, reminding me strangely of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – we made friends with most everyone we saw. The man from Nepal selling three-piece suits, the old woman selling bracelets from a tray around her neck, and Nam, a little person with the sweetest smile I had seen in a long time. (I think I bowed to her and said thank you simply for meeting her about three times before walking away.) Oh, and Jeremiah and I totally made our own Pad Thai on the street. That was pretty awesome. I asked the woman making it if I could and she just let me jump behind the cart she cooks the noodles on and instructed me in Thai (and by signing) how to make a meal I had only ever had served to me or microwaved. That was her life probably every day – cooking Pad Thai for foreigners – and I gave her a break and a few laughs. Totally worth it.

By the time we got back to the hostel across town it was night and everyone was relaxing in the main room, which is where I met the lovely Spanish flower that is Nydia. Her smile is the first thing that reaches you – and then her accent. I asked where she was from and I immediately sparked up a conversation with her en Español. She’s been traveling solo through Thailand for about a month and will be leaving in just a couple days. (It’s amazing how within one night you can connect with someone from clear across the planet and know you just made a friend for life.) We talked about Thai landscapes and culture, fear and the media, love and family – mostly in Spanish over Thai beer with Jeremiah from Louisiana and Michael from Bavaria. At that moment, we were all connected. (This is why I travel.)

Soon we wont be at this hostel anymore, and who knows if I will make it to Australia or Oktoberfest to meet up with Michael or to Madrid or Formentera to relax with Nydia, but I know I made two friends in less than 12 hours that will last a lifetime… here, in Bangkok.

Look at those cute girls livening up a dreary Colosseum!

In response to our last minute request, A.C.L.E. granted Sarah and me a night in Rome between our Roccafranca and Lanuvio destinations. We had from 4pm Saturday until 1:30pm Sunday to experience one of the most culture-rich cities of both the ancient and modern worlds. 

I quickly began to feel like part of a rapid motion film montage. The trip began with a warm welcome from a “Free Tourist Assistant,” who approached us in Roma Termini station and recommended an 18 euro/night hostel. The trip ended with Sarah and me literally running through the Sistene Chapel.
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